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Hauling tractors with half ton pickups

S

sodly

Member
I would like to see photos of half ton pickups hauling tractors. What size of tractors do people comfortably (and hopefully legally) haul with a half ton, bumper hitch?
 
I've towed our 8n with a shredder on a 16' bumper pull tandem axle a handful of times. Also have pulled my JD 1020 on the same trailer. My truck is a '03 Silverado 2wd. No issues pulling either. They're heavy and you feel it back there, but it pulls fine. I think with the 1020 the weight was around 7-8k lbs total, im not sure what the trailer weighs, but the tractor by itself is around 5k lbs according to tractor data. I don't believe that's the heaviest load i've pulled either. Just go slower and be well aware of your stopping distance.

Newer trucks these days can pull a hell of a lot more and have around a 10-12k lb tow capacity. You can just about always pull more than rated, but that don't mean you should. Your stopping power is what limits things.
 
We have a member in our tractor club that pulls a 24ft. bumper pull trailer and hauls 2 Farmall M's and his weights and 3 passengers to pulls all around the hills of Virginia and West Virginia, with a new quad cab 1500 Chevrolet. He doesn't seem to have any problems. I'm sorry but I don't have a picture.
 
I use my half ton to haul JD 1010 gas, JD 40U and Farmall Cub regularly. I have hauled a JD MT and LA without issue. Our JD 1020 gas I couldn't get on my trailer well and wasn't balanced great. It hauled it, but I wouldn't do it again unless I could get the rear wheels sucked in to fit between the fenders. I have also hauled JD B and JD A without issues. I have a 4 ton Hudson Bros. 16' equipment trailer. Truck is a 2015 Chevy 1500 Z71 with Timbren bump stops. Prior truck was a 2011 Chevy Z71 with Timbren bump stops.

Sorry I don't have any pictures readily available.
 
I pull a 16" trailer with my 1997 Ford F150. I've hauled my MF135 with a 84" mower, my 743B Bobcat skid steer, and up to 5 round bales without any problems.
 
I pull my MH 44 Special several times a year to a few shows 16 foot bumper hitch,
6000 lb. tractor. 2018 1500 Silverado, tow rated for 7200 lbs. Never any problem. I
used to pull an 8000 lb MH 55 with an 1981 Chev half ton 6 cylinder 4
speed....Could not get much over 50 mph!

Ben
 
I haven't hauled that heavy a load in tractors, but have using a 16' enclosed trailer. I installed rear suspension air bags on our 2004 Chevy ext. cab 1500. Pulls like a dream.
 

cvphoto41914.jpg


<video src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvvideos/cvvideo41915.mov"
controls>http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/cvvideos/cvvideo41915.mov</video>
I use a 2010 Silverado to pull a 18? Deckover.

My truck is rated to handle up to 10,000 lbs of weight.

My Case tractors weigh in between 4,000-4,800 lbs and with the weight of the trailer I?m within the limits.
 
You do not want to see the things both my Dad and me hauled with F150's both with the 300 six cylinder engines. The heaviest was a weighted down 966 or it might have been the 4230 I hauled 300 miles. Hauled over a 100 4020's and 100's of other tractors. One heavy load was dad's Deere 350 crawler loader. Most of this was 25-35 years ago and no I would not do it again. It was not safe or even smart but we had work to do and done it. Yes we even had hills and small mountains. The 300 engine never scared me going up as it had plenty of power(no speed) it was the down hill that worried me even with heavy axles and good trailer brakes. Tom
 
I use a 1980 Chevy heavy half ton to haul tractors with. The biggest to date was the IH584 I own and yes I was over loaded but I was also only going about 10 miles on back roads and I drove slow. Made it with no problems. Second biggest I have hauled is my Oliver S88
 
My 1/2 ton truck is rated for 9000 lbs of trailer
weight.

I pull a 18 ft camper and a 18 foot aluminum boat at
the same time. About 7000 lbs total trailer weight
and makes me 65 ft long. Both trailers are bumper
pull. With a sway bar between the truck and camper
it pulls good. I paid extra to have brakes added to
the camper axle for extra safety.
 
My dad has hauled a JD B &amp; a WD45 with his 1500 truck. I bought a F250 myself. It's not so much about getting up to speed as it is getting the rig stopped.
 

Sorry, no pics, but the Son-in-law and I hauled his Ferguson TO-35 to the eastern edge of Ohio from South Central Indiana on a 20-foot deckover with a 6-foot tail and ramps w/ his '13 Silverado. Got there, and the tractor we went to trade for wasn't what we were told, so we hauled it back.

We then went to Southern Kentucky and hauled home a DB885 on the same set-up. No trouble on either trip.

In my younger days, I hauled an 853 bobcat on a 16-foot car hauler from the BUMPER of my '89 F-150 w/ a 300-six. Also, no hook-up for trailer brakes or lights. [b:b1fa0e1b5d][i:b1fa0e1b5d][u:b1fa0e1b5d]THAT[/u:b1fa0e1b5d][/i:b1fa0e1b5d][/b:b1fa0e1b5d] was a stupid thing to do! I made it to my destination and back, but I'd never do it again!
 
(quoted from post at 10:07:27 11/14/19)haul with a half ton, bumper hitch?
Click to expand...
would think there is a lot of difference between a "bumper" hitch, and a "Reese" type hitch.
 
a 24 foot trailer, 2 farmall m"s and weights ?? holy smokes, let me know when he's on the road so i can stay home !!!
 
(quoted from post at 12:03:50 11/14/19) My dad has hauled a JD B &amp; a WD45 with his 1500 truck. I bought a F250 myself. It's not so much about getting up to speed as it is getting the rig stopped.
Click to expand...

Guys don't matter what you have been getting away with. What matters is if "John Law" or the ambulance chasers get involved. The will go by the tag on the door frame. If you are rated to pull 12,000, plus have stuff in the bed and a full passenger load you can easily gross vehicle weight. If you are over anyway you could actually get over the 26,001 issue. In any case if the cops decide to weigh it you can get a rather expensive ticket. If heaven forbid you are involved in an accident any 2 day out of law school ambulance chaser will be tripping over themselves to get that case. Sad but it's the new norm.

Rick
 
When I hauled that IH584 home I had a cop pull in behind me and he followed me 3 or 4 miles then turned off. My truck having farm tags on it goes a long ways as to if a cop will bother you or not. Also since I was only doing 35-40mph I guess he wanted to get around so he took a way around me
 
Depends on the half ton, a half ton
from the 80s often was only rated to
tow around 5000 lbs, our Toyota tundra
is rated to tow 10,500lbs and does it
well, safely and stops it better than
my old 3/4 ton. We regularly move my
7000lb excavator with the tundra and
it works well
 
i have hauled 3000 ford and bush hog behind 78 f150 and 79 Chevy also b414 and bush hog behind either truck many times. Hauled d21 allis with a 57
gmc 1.5 ton wrecker with front of tractor lifted on sling. Also 80 series Chevy truck tractor with trailer behind that wrecker and cars with no wheels
crossways swinging from the boom. That was my in my younger days.
 
Sodly, again no pic but here's another one for ya:

I used to have a 1986 Dodge Ram 50 (built by Mitsubishi). Mine had the smaller 2.0l with 5-speed manual, 2 wheel drive. I drove from near Houston up to Fort Worth and bought a 16' lowboy trailer. Then stopped in Dallas and bought a restored Ferguson TO-30 with brush hog mower. At that time, Texas was just in the process of starting to require at least one axle to have brakes, but it had not gone into effect yet. Any trailer built before that law was exempt. So, that little truck, on I-45 Dallas to Houston, and no trailer brakes. Traffic was light the whole way which was nice. A few truckers helped me out now and then by cutting down my wind resistance, but each soon got tired of going 53mph, which was top speed behind them. Without the escort, my top speed was sometimes as low as 40, but usually about 45 or so.

The trailer didn't come with ramps, so the seller simply drove it onto the trailer with the front wheels easily rolling onto the trailer. All of a sudden, the front end of my truck went flying into the air while the trailer went to the ground. Kinda shocked everyone. *lol*

Yes, an experience to remember....if I wanna have nightmares now! :shock:
 
My half ton is a 2001 Silverado with the small v8. I use it and a 16ft double axle utility trailer to haul a 4 cylinder ford 4000. In the past it pulled a ford 641. Weight of tractor and implement between 3700 and 4200 or so. Truck does just fine. Make sure trailer has brakes and balence the load.
 
Look up the tow rating for your pickup - in your manual or easy to find on line. You need to find the exact truck you have as, for example, a 2012 F-150 shows tow ratings from 8,500# to 11,300# depending on the engine and configuration of the truck.

Add the weight of trailer and tractor to see if within the tow rating.

Check with DMV (or maybe you know for sure) if any extra license or weight increase permits are required.

Or just do whatever you want and if stopped or in an accident simply tell them that you checked Yesterday's Tractors and lots of folks hauled much bigger loads on smaller trucks and they had no trouble and never were arrested or even given a ticket so, on that basis you are sure you're legal. That should make it OK.
 
I probably have some pictures somewhere but not going to look for them. Reading the other responses and
looking at pictures the experiences are variations of many of my own.
My early hauling experiences were as a teen hauling 2 wagons of grain behind the 8N and Sherman combo,
with only one brake working, 10 miles to the grain elevator.
My early (legal?) hauling was with a 1979 1/2 ton Chevy Suburban, 350 engine and 2.73 axle on a receiver
hitch. I pulled a 16 foot tandem axle "homade" trailer with no trailer brakes that weighed about 2000
pounds. I carried my '51 8N (same one as above) with loaded tires, the 2 bottom Dearborn Economy plow
and a 6 foot double disc. No hard launches, secondary roads only, never over 45 mph. Slow down way
ahead of lights and stop signs. Usually had one of my sons with me to help. Survived without incidents.
Sold the trailer and I was glad to get rid of it.
I have had several 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton and even a 1 ton dually with 6.5 turbo diesel with 5 speed manual
transmission and 4.10 rear axle.
My current trailer is 18' (16' deck and 2' beavertail), rated at 10,000 lbs and with a 12,000 lb winch.
My current truck is a 2018 1/2 ton Silverado with built in trailer brake controller. It is equipped
with E rated tires all around and airbag assist on the rear axle. I'm using the stock receiver hitch.
Normally I only haul one N, maybe with an implement but did one time haul my son's F150 to a repair shop
(not trying to badmouth Ford, I've owned many. He just needed help) That said, I did haul 2 Ns to
Archbold, Ohio for auction last year.
I also have a 24 foot enclosed trailer rated at 10,000 lbs. I typically don't have more than 3000 to
4000 lbs of cargo. I use a load transfer hitch with this trailer.
Lastly, I keep my speed down. I keep my x-way speed no higher than 65. Truckers usually are passing me
and many, many, many recreation trailers blow my doors off!
 
Should have seen some of the things done with 1963 Ford F100 long wide bed. 2 Holstein cows ,3 tons scrap. Drug things should have used 2 ton truck. This with No power brakes and power steering.
 
I can easily haul things around 5000#.
Barney has been expelled
cvphoto41930.jpg

From Yt. I'm sure someone will
cvphoto41931.jpg

Take is place and points out my straps
shouldn't touch bucket.
Tractor is
cvphoto41932.jpg

3560 Le Kubota.
Lawn roller is 4640#, with no water
added.

The trick is knowing when load is
properly positioned. Not to much or too
little tongue weight.
George
 
(LOL)The weight is what will get a lot of people with no truck tags 6500 lbs gross in Virginia,5000 lb truck,2000lb trailer,5000lb tractor will equal an expensive
overweight ticket and yea DOT will weigh it here no problem.
 
I will add after rereading the original post that my trailer was a goose neck and not a bumper hitch.As I get older I sometimes miss stuff when reading a post. Tom
 
I pulled my Ford 3000 with a 35 , 3500lb bumper pull trailer a couple times with my old Chevy half ton. No trailer brakes and hilly terrain made it less than pleasant. I won t do it again.
 
KCM .... I had one of those, an '87 with the bigger 2.8 L engine, I think that was the size. Five speed I think, long box was 7' long,
standard cab. I loved that truck but it kept having issues with head gaskets and overheating etc once it got some miles on the odometer.
Second time around I gave it away to a guy who fixed it up and drove it for some time. I was on the hunt at the time for a
Mitsubishi/Dodge Raider, remember those? Could never find one but it looks like they're still kicking around, see the link below.
Meanwhile I settled for a 91 Jeep YJ which I still driving, lots of parts available which probably wouldn't be the case for the Raider.
But they were still pretty neat little SUV's back in the day.
Dodge Mitsubishi Raider ....
 
Not a tractor but a self propelled swather. I pulled it home about 40 miles behind the 1970 Dodge. Slant six and three on the tree. I don't recall any problems
although it did start to whip a little when I got going too fast on the mostly gravel roads. Around that same time we pulled the tandem axle Farm King grain tank
to a seed grower's to pick up some seed barley. I can't remember how much but it could have been as much as 100 bushels. I would not try it now but back then if
it would hitch to the bumper, I'd try to pull it.
Now that I think about it, we pulled that heavy Crown reel type rock picker home from the auction. A good 20 mile drive. That thing was heavy and with the offset
hitch it hung over to the right. I think we kept mostly to back roads with little traffic. That is WAY too heavy for a half ton GMC but we got away with it.
 
I pulled way to many behind my 2008 F-150 to post all the pics!
This is the load that made me really want a bigger truck though.
Forklift weighed 5600, trailer weighs 3000, so 8600 total.
It was an 8 hour trip home.
Trailer brakes on all four wheels, 4 wheel disks on the truck.
I didn't have any trouble, but wasn't winning any races.
Truck was rated at 10,800 tow rating and the trailer at 14k.
But the ball? Normally they're rated around 5K.

mvphoto45347.jpg


A couple others. Yes, those are three different trailers.
I was glad to get rid of that homemade deckover.

mvphoto45350.jpg


mvphoto45349.jpg
 
Is that an "M"? How wide is your trailer between the fenders? I have a new trailer that's pretty darn nice, then I find out it's 83" between the fenders so neither of my M's will fit... Darn!
 
Your tractor will fit. All you need to do is reverse the wheels to 'dish in' position.You have to do that to get them narrow enough to fit a 30" cornrow anyway.
 
Went with a friend of mine to get a
cotton picker in his Chevy pickup. Tires
were half off the trailer on both sides.
Worked the truck hard pulling it back. 45
was max speed and on hills it would drop
way down. Would have to stop regularly to
let the engine cool back down once we
left the flatlands. Dumb, scary trip.
 
This load is around 16,000 lbs combined weight which is 1000 lbs below what my F-150 is rated for. Trailer is rated at 10,400 lbs and the hitch is rated to 12k. I pulled this load 400
miles and the truck did fine.

One thing to be aware of is that no "half-ton" that I'm aware of is rated for more than 5000 lbs conventional towing unless a weight distributing hitch is used. Without this type of hitch
there is no way you can properly balance the tongue weight of a heavier trailer without overloading the truck's rear axle. The overall stability is greatly improved as well.


cvphoto41959.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 08:52:43 11/15/19) This load is around 16,000 lbs combined weight which is 1000 lbs below what my F-150 is rated for. Trailer is rated at 10,400 lbs and the hitch is rated to 12k. I pulled this load 400
miles and the truck did fine.

One thing to be aware of is that no "half-ton" that I'm aware of is rated for more than 5000 lbs conventional towing unless a weight distributing hitch is used. Without this type of hitch
there is no way you can properly balance the tongue weight of a heavier trailer without overloading the truck's rear axle. The overall stability is greatly improved as well.


&lt;img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto41959.jpg"&gt;
Click to expand...

You have an F150 with a CGVWR of 15K? You do know you have to subtract the weight of the truck and trailer from that, right? Not trying to be a wise guy, but I'd love to see the door sticker that shows your CGVWR of 15K on an F150.
 
Just brought a bobcat m600 home last week and my ferguson a few years ago. Yes I know the ferguson tires are on backwards, they were flipped to fit on the trailer. When I got home I flipped them back.

Those are excursions on f350 frames, pickup's are nice but that interior space where a 4x8 sheet of plywood fits inside flat is convenient.

PZL65GCh.jpg



aMFegBGh.png
 
Brendon-KS -- Can you post a couple more views of that Case machine? That's quite interesting. Did it used to be part of a sprayer rig?

Crazy Horse -- That li'l truck was the only vehicle I ever bought new. Yes, sure do miss it. Can't believe that smaller trucks like that (Ram 50, Toyota High Lux, etc.) are still available in most every other country on the planet, but can't get them here anymore.
 
Won't find the GCWR on the door frame. It will only have the axle and vehicle ratings.

Following the manuals GCWR will preserve your warrantee, let you meet acceleration targets, let you climb steep grades without concern for overheating, start on steep grades from dead stop, apply the parking brake on a
steep grade and leave the vehicle, all kinds of things that are great but aren't applicable for everyone. Legally not enforceable in many jurisdictions.

My F350 super duty is rated to tow 5000 lbs max in the manual. What is needed to obtain the 16,000 lb or whatever tow rating of the 6.8L V10 model? Just the engine. The rest of the truck is the same in this particular build.
Axles, brakes, springs etc. The 5.4 just can't meet the tests that needed more power. Our area is flat, and the truck has 4wd low if we ever needed to start on a 15% grade or whatever that test is. So we tow up to the V10
numbers and it works fine.
 
Here you go. This is right out of the owners manual of my
2018 F150. Depending on how it?s configured you can see the
combined gross vehicle weight is up to 18,400#.
cvphoto41977.jpg
 
The door tag only lists GVWR, not GCWR.
But, per the 2012 manual my truck has a
GCWR of 17,100 lbs since it has the max
tow package and 3.5 turbo engine. My
total weight was about 16,000 lbs.

cvphoto41986.jpg
 
You're mixing up GCWR and max trailer weight. Plus, the mandatory weight distributing hitch moves some of the tongue weight to the front axle.
 
GCWR is meaningless. One needs to look at the towing capacity chart that vehicle manufacturers publish. And then adjust accordingly based on payload, passengers, etc....
 
(quoted from post at 14:27:03 11/15/19) The door tag only lists GVWR, not GCWR.
But, per the 2012 manual my truck has a
GCWR of 17,100 lbs since it has the max
tow package and 3.5 turbo engine. My
total weight was about 16,000 lbs.

&lt;img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto41986.jpg"&gt;
Click to expand...
You need to subtract the total weight of your truck from the GVWR, including seats, payload, passengers, etc....Your safe towing capacity isn't even close to 17,000 lbs.
 
The trailer and its cargo was 10,000 lbs
and the fueled truck with me in it is
about 6000. Add them together to get the
combined weight of 16,000. I never said I
was towing a 17,000 lb trailer! I did say
that per the manual my truck's GCWR is
17,100 lbs but this of course isn't the
towing capacity.
 
The Case on the trailer is a model MB4/94
which is a re-branded Mercedes-Benz Unimog
406. Case sold these machines from 1975
until about 1980 with the primary markets
being construction and snow removal. In
Europe and other places Mercedes also
marketed them as farm tractors and off-
road utility vehicles. They are basically
jack-of-all-trades machines depending on
how they are configured. If you google
"Unimog 406" you'll find a lot of
information about them.
 
Have seen videos of Unimogs; Mercedes as well as other brands. I think even Freightliner was making one for more recent U.S. military forces. Could be set with FEL, and a fold-up backhoe on the rear (backhoe was made by Case; not sure about FEL).

Had no idea that Case also made some of the primary machines.
 
(quoted from post at 15:27:03 11/15/19) The door tag only lists GVWR, not GCWR.
But, per the 2012 manual my truck has a
GCWR of 17,100 lbs since it has the max
tow package and 3.5 turbo engine. My
total weight was about 16,000 lbs.

&lt;img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto41986.jpg"&gt;
Click to expand...


I'm officially amazed! That being said, I think they are over rating their trucks by a good margin. And I'm a Ford truck fan, just not the 150s.
 
(quoted from post at 09:01:01 11/16/19)
(quoted from post at 15:27:03 11/15/19) The door tag only lists GVWR, not GCWR.
But, per the 2012 manual my truck has a
GCWR of 17,100 lbs since it has the max
tow package and 3.5 turbo engine. My
total weight was about 16,000 lbs.

&lt;img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto41986.jpg"&gt;
Click to expand...


I'm officially amazed! That being said, I think they are over rating their trucks by a good margin. And I'm a Ford truck fan, just not the 150s.
Click to expand...

One tons are up over 32,000 gcvw now....crazy!
 
I have a Goose neck hitch in my Half Ton,,added a couple leaf springs,,I pull a 25 ft. single wheel tandem trailer, using it for long light stuff mostly,, but i do haul some equipment with it occasionally,,I hauled my planter and disc to Rantual with no problems,about a 6 hour drive,,I know it has it's limits,,but it is still handy.

cvphoto42089.jpg


cvphoto42090.jpg


cvphoto42091.jpg
 
To the guys worried about a newer half ton stopping a load you should look at what these newer rigs have for brakes. Most have dual piston calipers and large rotors which have more braking power than an older 3/4 ton truck.

Heck my wife's newish SUV has larger rotors and bigger pads than my 99 7.3 f-250.
 
Ford 1994 F150; E4OD trans; 4.9l engine.....I have hauled my Ford 2000 3-cylinder tractor plus bush hog on a UHaul 'Car Hauler' trailer several times with no problems. F150 struggles slightly going up long grades but, for the most part, you don't feel the trailer behind the truck. No problems stopping but I drive with extreme caution when in traffic. I don't have a trailer so the UHaul option works for me for the few times I need to haul the tractor and the truck doesn't complain.
 
On the Rantual trip my gross weight was 15,550 lbs.,,,,the trailer brakes worked well so stopping was no problem, and the 5.4 V8 had plenty of power,,and there weren't many hills going west..
 

I hauled a 130-150 40 lbs square bales roughly 100 miles every couple weeks for years using a home made tandem axle trailer behind a '91 Toyota pu with the 22R 4 banger. Just because I did it and got away wit it doesn't mean that it was a great idea.
 

We could ask what is being hauled and then what is being legally, safely and ethically hauled.
Mrs B&amp;D has a GMC Sierra 1500 6.2L with the Max Towing Option. 7600lbs gross on the vehicle and rated for 10,500lb trailer.
So if you have a class G license, it's all you need.
 
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